


Embrace

by RunFarAwayWithMe



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: F/F, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-28
Updated: 2014-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-13 05:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/820810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunFarAwayWithMe/pseuds/RunFarAwayWithMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe is an upbeat girl with a bubbly personality, but only her best friend Aubrey knows what happens behind closed doors. With the arrival of Beca and a dramatic event that draws them closer together, Chloe learns that it could be time to let someone else in. But with a traumatic event in her past that keeps fighting it’s way back to her future, it’s hard for Chloe to relax into an intimate embrace and accept that someone can truly love her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The taxi pulled up outside Barden University and Beca Mitchell looked out the window, trying to refrain from rolling her eyes or making any sarcastic comment. She had promised her dad that she would give college life a try, so she was at least going to wait until she was inside to start criticising it. All around her were students either saying tearful goodbyes to their parents or not being able to get away fast enough. The building itself didn’t look too bad; it was huge, so hopefully that meant there was a good chance of becoming invisible against the crowds. From what her dad had told her you were only somebody in Barden if you really excelled at something which was great news for Beca. It wasn’t that she didn’t excel at things; she just wasn’t the type of person to stick her essays up on the fridge or put her name forward for awards.

“Er… Miss? We’re here,” the taxi driver cleared his throat awkwardly from the front of the car. “I can see that,” Beca replied. She took in a deep breath and opened the door, not appreciating the sudden rush of sound that surrounded her. Annoying chatter and squeals from friends reuniting after summer break pierced her eardrums, making the walk to get her equipment even more urgent. She couldn’t wait to get put her headphones on and fill her ears with music. The driver tried to help but she waved him away after giving him some cash for the ride. As she loaded all of her bags onto the cart, her attention was drawn to the family standing by the car next to her. She wasn’t exactly eavesdropping, but they were talking so loud that it was hard not to hear them.

The mother had a particularly shrill voice and it was apparent that she probably owned three houses in the Hamptons before she was twenty. “Now darling, I don’t expect you to call us all year because I know you’ll be studying so hard. It’s your final year, so you don’t have much time for socialising if you want to do well.” Her husband stood beside her nodding repetitively, whipped beyond belief. “Yes… I know…” the young girl seemed to repeat those three words over and over, but her mother wasn’t listening. “… and no extracurricular activities. I know you love your singing but at the end of the day it won’t get you a job. You were part of that group last year, and I think that’s why you fell behind. No drinking, although I don’t have to tell you that as I know you can’t stand the taste of alcohol…”

Beca watched the girl’s eyebrow flick up and a smirk play at her lips for half a second at the mention of alcohol, and she couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head at the mother’s seemingly perfect daughter. As she flung her remaining bag over her shoulder she glanced over at the family one last time, only to see that they had stopped talking and the older woman was staring at her with pursed lips. Evidently they had heard her laugh and were less than impressed, but Beca kept a smile on her face. “Can I help you?” she said unfalteringly. The woman smoothed down her blazer and said stiffly, “I don’t appreciate your manner, young lady. Judging by your excessive piercings I can only assume that you are nothing more than a delinquent, jealous of my daughter’s success.”

“Well,” Beca began, making sure to put on a mockingly posh tone, “I’m sure I am jealous of your perfect, tee-total daughter. Let me just stick a pole up my ass and I’m one step closer to being worthy of your presence.” She bent her legs in an exaggerated curtsy before grabbing her bags and turning to get her new key from an over-excited usher. “What dorm?” the girl asked with a smile that was unmoving to the point of being creepy. “Er… Baker Hall I think,” Beca replied. “Okay! So what you’re gonna do is…” But Beca had already stopped listening. She couldn’t stop thinking of the redhead behind her and that there was a lot more to her than her mother thought. Beca had already sussed that she drank, but couldn’t fight the urge to find out what else she was hiding.

Her hand curled around the luggage cart and she pulled it behind her as she walked over to the dorm she would be living in for the next year. Her first port of call was setting up all of her music equipment, despite the fact that she was majoring in philosophy this year. Kimmy Jin, the new roommate, had already made it crystal clear that she wasn’t a sociable character which Beca was more than okay with. She had just begun working on a mix when there was a knock on the door, followed by an incredibly un-funny joke. Beca rolled her eyes and braced herself for the entrance of her father. “It’s just your old man making a funny,” he joked, walking over to the desk. “Chris Rock everybody. What do you want, dad?”

“I just wanted to check that you got here okay.”  
“Well I did. So you can go now.”  
“Come on, Becs. I know you would rather be in LA making music but I want you to get a college education first. For free, I might add. I thought we were past this and you were going to give it a go?”  
Before Beca could respond, Kimmy Jin stood up and announced her departure to the activities fair. Beca wasn’t one for activities or any form of social participation, but she had an opportunity to escape her dad and she was going to take it. “I’m going to the activities fair with my super good friend, Kimmy Jin,” she said and headed out the door without another word, trusting her dad to let himself out.

She walked across the quad and a grin spread across her face when she saw the redhead standing in the middle of the activities fair, evidently enjoying rebellion. Beca looked around to see if there were any other groups worth joining, but apart from Quidditch Club there was nothing particularly interesting. She decided to wander over to the redhead and her friend to see if she could find out anything else about her, but unfortunately they were just trying to recruit new members for a singing group. Beca headed over to various tables, trying to give her father time to get as far away from her dorm as possible before she returned. One sign caught her eye for Barden Internships and she walked over in the hopes of finding a music related job.

Once she had signed up to work at the radio station she headed to a patch of grass where other students were sitting, but isolated herself by a tree with her iPod and closed her eyes. By the time she opened her eyes again, the activities fair was all packed up and most of the students were in their dorms. When music was playing in her ears it wasn’t unusual for Beca to lose a few hours like this. She stood up, brushed the grass off herself and began to head back to her laptop and equipment. Maybe after a few weeks at the station she would be able to give some of her mixes to whoever was her new boss and she could get her music played on the college radio. With that thought playing on her mind, she walked back across the quad and only managed to notice a certain redhead when they were inches apart. Neither of them had time to stop themselves walking before crashing into one another, and Beca began mumbling an apology until she realised exactly whom she had bumped into. “Hi,” she said with a grin on her face.  
“Hello,” the redhead said and extended her hand, “I’m Chloe.”

“Beca,” she replied, still trying to suppress the eager grin on her face. “So I’m guessing your mothers rules are already out of the window then? Cos I’m pretty sure she said no singing groups.”  
“Yeah… Sorry about that by the way, she shouldn’t have said anything to you.”  
“It’s okay, I’m a big girl. By the way I didn’t mean it about needing a pole up my ass to talk to you. It was more for your mother’s sake that I said it.”  
Chloe laughed and said, “Don’t worry - I won’t hold it against you. So where are you staying?”  
“Baker Hall. I’m just heading there now actually.”  
“I’ll walk with you – I actually stay in the block next to you. I live with my friend, Aubrey.”  
“The blonde from earlier?” Beca asked, keeping it to herself that she was pretty sure that girl had a pole up her ass, even if Chloe didn’t.  
“Yep, that’s the one.”

They spoke for a while longer until they arrived outside Baker Hall and Beca swallowed her fear before saying, “Do you want to go out tonight? I mean, you’d have to pick the place because I have no idea where anything is, but I’d like to take you out.”  
“Like on a date?” Chloe said with a teasing gleam in her eyes.  
“No! Not exactly… I mean, sort of. Well yes, but only if-”  
Chloe silenced Beca with a laugh and said, “Yes, Beca. I would like to go on a date with you tonight.” She pulled out her phone and entered the information for a new contact before passing the phone over to Beca, watching as she smiled sheepishly as she entered her number before handing it back. “Perfect,” Chloe said, “Be at mine for six; I’m in room 503.”  
“See you then,” Beca replied and walked into Baker Hall. As she walked up the stairs and along the corridor to her dorm room, she couldn’t help but feel almost glad to be at Barden. However, she wasn’t about to let her dad know that she’d made a friend; as far as he was concerned this year would be a hellish experience for his daughter, and he should feel pangs of guilt every day for sending her there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe put her key in the door to her flat and walked inside instantly calling Aubrey’s name. Eventually the blonde emerged from the bathroom, still drying her wet hair with a towel. “What is it? Did you find some more girls for the Bellas?”   
“No, I’ve got a date,” Chloe replied nervously. She wasn’t the kind of person to get nervous. Acapella shows, competitions, class presentations – she had done them all and managed to remain calm. Dating however was a whole other ball game. She managed to tactfully avoid Aubrey’s questions of who the date was with, as she already knew that her best friend wasn’t too keen on Beca. “What do I do? I have to pick the place, but she’s coming here at six! Aubrey that’s two hours, and I still don’t know what to wear.”

The blonde went in to full on control mode, pulling out different outfits for Chloe to try on and somehow managing to keep her calm. By the time she was done, Chloe was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a pink top, black boots, and a matching jacket, and they still had fifteen minutes to spare. Aubrey was brushing a red lipstick against her friend’s lips when she said softly, “Are you sure you want to wear the jacket? It was thirty degrees earlier.” Chloe kept her lips in a pout as Aubrey applied some gloss and said, “I’ll be fine.” Aubrey raised an eyebrow and glared for a second, before pulling away and saying, “Okay, you’re done.”

She left it for a few minutes before saying again, “Seriously Chloe, it’s really hot out. I’m sure this girl wouldn’t mind if you didn’t wear a jacket.” Chloe shook her head and sighed. She was not ready to have this conversation with her friend, all she wanted was to have a good night out and enjoy herself. “I know you’re trying to help, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to send her running for the hills on our first date.”  
“From what you’ve told me, I’m sure she’s not like that,” Aubrey replied. She always worried about her friend. She knew how Chloe could get sometimes, despite her seemingly happy and bubbly exterior. Aubrey was the only person that Chloe had ever let see her cry to the point where she felt that her chest was about to cave in, and as far as the redhead was concerned she was the only person who would ever see that. 

At five to six, there was a knock at the door. Aubrey opened it and was shocked to see the alternative girl from earlier standing on her doorstep. She quickly shot Chloe a quizzical look before turning back to the girl and saying politely, “Come in, she’s just inside.” Beca walked into their room and saw that it was more like an apartment, probably paid for by their rich parents. She looked around and admired the homeliness of the place and the accumulation of three years of memories, strewn across their own living room, kitchen, bathroom, and individual bedrooms. It was like a palace compared to her dorm room shared with Kimmy Jin. “I forgot you said 503,” she said awkwardly. “I knocked next door and they got really confused, although I think that was mostly from all the pot I could smell. But then I told them you lived with Aubrey, so they pointed me here.” 

Chloe laughed, already becoming entranced with the way that Beca spoke. “Come on,” she said, “I’ll make sure you don’t get lost anymore tonight.” Aubrey gave her one last reassuring look as they headed out the door and left for their date. They walked down the five flights of stairs and just as they reached the bottom, Beca said, “Where are we going by the way?” Chloe merely tapped one finger against the side of her nose, keeping her mouth firmly shut. “That’s not fair!” Beca protested, “I’m supposed to be taking you on a date, yet you’re the one organising it.”  
“Fine then – let’s say that this is me taking you on a date. That just means you have to organise the next one,” Chloe said with a smirk.  
“So there’s going to be another date? You’re very sure of yourself,” Beca said with a small laugh as they turned out of the university campus.   
“What can I say? I know how to impress a girl and leave her wanting more,” the older girl said as a smirk played at her lips. It was only a ten minute walk, and on the way Chloe took the liberty of pointing out a few places that Beca should know about; a club, a restaurant, the supermarket, and a library. Soon after they arrived at a building that wasn’t very well signposted, and as they walked in the door Beca realised that she still had no idea where they were. She looked around for some sort of leaflet or poster as Chloe bought two tickets at the reception desk, but was left none the wiser until the redhead returned holding two pairs of roller-skates. It was then that she heard the soft pounding from some music deeper into the building, and her mouth fell open. “You brought me to a roller disco?”

Chloe winked, handed her the skates and said, “I had to guess your size, but I think they should be okay.” They headed over to a bench and swapped their shoes for wheels, and Beca clung tightly onto the bench. She handed her trainers to Chloe and said, “Could you take them over to the lockers for me?” Once Chloe had her back turned, Beca tried standing up. She held out her arms to the side and kept her legs bent, fully aware of how stupid and unattractive she looked. Slowly she straightened her legs until she was standing somewhat normally, and then smiled with satisfaction. “You ready?” Chloe asked, gliding over with ease. “Sure, I’ll see you out there,” Beca replied, knowing the chances of her getting away with hanging behind were slim.

“Can’t skate?” Chloe asked.   
“Nope, never done it in my life,” Beca answered, only half smiling. “You see, most people just go to the cinema for a date.” Chloe laughed and linked their arms together, slowly pulling Beca towards a door. She held one arm out far to the side for balance and didn’t take one step, just allowing herself to be dragged to the door. They pushed through it and were hit with the sight of strobe lights and the sound of pounding music, sparking a grin to appear on Beca’s face. “Okay, this is seriously cool,” she said, forgetting for a moment that she couldn’t skate. Chloe tugged them towards the railing surrounding the floor and tried to stifle her laughter as Beca showed resemblance to a new-born kitten trying to figure out how to walk. It took them an entire ten minutes to get around the circuit, and Beca clung onto the railing for dear life the whole way.

“You’re too tense,” Chloe said, taking the younger girl’s hands and prising them away from the rail. Beca scoffed and replied sarcastically, “I wonder why that is.”   
“Just relax. Don’t make your legs all stiff like that – loosen them up and you’ll find it easier.” Beca tried to comply, and eventually she stood less like a wooden plank. As her body loosened and became less wood-like her grip on Chloe’s hands tightened and damn near cut off circulation. She tried to take a step but her feet just wheeled back and forth the more she tried, and Chloe couldn’t control her laughter any more. “I’m sorry,” she said unapologetically, “I can’t stop thinking of Bambi on ice.”

Even Beca had to laugh, but she tried to regain composure as the shaky movements made her less stable on her feet. “Okay, let’s do this,” Chloe said eventually, still grinning. She skated backwards and pulled Beca along, encouraging her to take more steps instead of gliding. After a solid forty five minutes of work, the two were skating alongside each other. They stayed close to the edge the whole time and Beca’s hand frequently flew out to grab onto Chloe if she felt like she was about to fall, but at least she remained upright. Well, most of the time. Eventually they needed to take a break, both of them out of breath and sweating from the amount of effort they were exerting. They grabbed a slushie from the café beside the rink and sat down beneath the air conditioning vent, the cool air acting like an oasis in the desert.

“You must be boiling in your jacket, why don’t you take it off?” Beca asked the question that Chloe had hoped to go the whole night without hearing. She considered arguing that she wasn’t too hot, but she could feel the sweat gathering on her forehead like little beads of evidence. “There’s nowhere to put it, I don’t want it getting stolen,” she said, and felt relieved when Beca nodded. They sat there talking beneath the air conditioning until they actually started to feel a chill, and then Chloe pulled Beca to her feet again to return to the skating rink. The music blared through the speakers and the lights were flashing as they skated round and round, laughing hysterically every time one of them fell over.  
It reached ten o’clock and the music stopped and the house lights came on, cueing everyone to leave. They were still laughing as they handed over their shoes, fighting the crowd of people trying to do the same thing. Once they were back outside and on the pavement, the fresh air and cool concrete was a welcome relief from the claustrophobic atmosphere inside. “I had a really good time tonight,” Beca said as they walked back towards Barden. Chloe smiled, feeling proud that she had managed to impress the younger girl. 

“Am I allowed to walk you home?” she asked, moving over slightly so that their hands kept brushing together as they walked.   
“I don’t think it makes much difference,” Beca said, “Our dorms are practically next to one another.”  
“Oh it makes a lot of difference,” Chloe replied with a smirk.   
“How?”  
“Because if I am walking you home, then I get to kiss you at your door.”  
A smile spread across Beca’s lips and she looked down at the floor, hoping it wasn’t obvious that she was blushing profusely. She had to admit – Chloe was good. She knew exactly what to say and how to be smooth, and she had every right to be confident at the start of the date. Instead of coming up with a remark, Beca merely closed the distance between their hands that had been tactfully colliding throughout the past conversation and entwined their fingers together. They walked in this way until they reached Chloe’s dorm, and then kept walking until they reached Baker Hall. Beca’s room was on the second floor, and as she got out her keys she said, “I would invite you in for fake coffee, but my roommate is kind of antisocial. Plus there is hardly any room in there – I think my room is about the size of your kitchen.”

Chloe laughed and tucked a stray hair behind Beca’s ear. “That’s okay,” she said softly, “I’ve got everything I want right here.” Her hand lingered on Beca’s cheek and then she pulled her into a soft, slow kiss. From the outside it looked perfectly innocent, but the second their lips connected a multitude of fireworks exploded throughout Beca’s whole body with the rocket right near her heart. Chloe brushed her thumb over Beca’s mouth where her lips had been only moments ago and said, “I meant to ask, why did you come up to our stand at the activities fair if you can’t sing?”  
“I just wanted an excuse to talk to you,” Beca said and watched as Chloe smiled, evidently content with her answer. “Well, now that you’re home safe I guess I’ll see you around,” she said and walked away to her dorm, still trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

“How was it?” Aubrey asked the second that her best friend walked through the door. The smile on Chloe’s face was a good enough answer, as every ounce of smoothness and self-control that she had dissipated the second she left Beca’s presence. She began squealing and jumping up and down saying, “It was so perfect! She’s amazing!” Aubrey laughed and let her continue for a while before putting her hands on Chloe’s shoulders and keeping her firmly on the floor. “Okay, breathe before you start bouncing off the walls.” Chloe stayed still but couldn’t shift the wide grin on her face. Eventually she calmed down enough to have a shower and get changed into her pyjamas, and then curled up on the sofa next to Aubrey with a hot chocolate.

As exhaustion finally began to take over, she finished her drink and rested her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “What am I going to do, Aubrey?” she said softly with a sleepy voice. Aubrey wrapped her arm around Chloe’s shoulders so that her head moved to rest on her chest, and she began to stroke the fiery waves of hair that had been tied into a loose bun. “When she realises I’m a basket case, she’s going to run.”  
“You don’t know that. I know I had my reservations about her at first, but she doesn’t seem like the type of girl to do that. And you’re not a basket case, so stop saying that.”  
“I am. Only a crazy person…” but before she could finish the sentence, tiredness won and sent her into a blissful sleep.

Several days passed before they saw each other again, but they made up for it two fold in the amount of texts that passed between them. The rain was pouring down loudly outside the windows as Beca walked into the shower room with her hair tied up and a bath robe wrapped snuggly around her, singing to herself a song that she had just been mixing. “You shout it loud, but I can’t hear a word you say. I’m talking loud, not saying much.” She hung up her robe, put her change of clothes on the bench and stepped into a stall, only vaguely aware that there was someone else in the room. “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away.” Just before she could turn on the water, a noise behind her caught her attention. Someone was outside of the shower, scrambling around and muttering the occasional swear word. 

Beca grabbed her unused towel and wrapped it around her body before pulling back the curtain and investigating the source of the noise. She felt the colour rise to her cheeks when she saw Chloe standing in nothing but her underwear, hurriedly putting on a pair of sweatpants but still leaving her top half completely exposed. Beca waited until she had pulled a long sleeved white top over her body before clearing her throat, making the girl jump out of her skin. “Crap! Beca, you scared me,” she said, holding a hand to her chest.   
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. You seem like you’re in a hurry…” Beca said, indirectly posing a question. Chloe nodded and picked up her towel and shower gel, anxious to get out and back to her apartment.

“The shower at my apartment is broken, so I had to come here. I just need to get back – Aubrey’s making dinner and she’ll kill me if I’m late,” Chloe said and turned to leave, but Beca caught her by the arm and pulled her back. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” she asked anxiously, releasing her grip in order to readjust the towel around her body. Before she could stop them, tears began to form in Chloe’s eyes and she whispered so quietly that it was barely audible, “Please, just let me go home.” Beca’s heart broke as she heard the pain in her voice; the desperation of her tone and the way her voice faltered slightly on the last word. She was about to nod and let Chloe go when her gaze was drawn to a growing red mark appearing on her white sleeve, spreading slowly the wings of a butterfly stretching across a surface.

“Chloe, you’re bleeding,” she stated as calmly as she could manage, not wanting to scare her any more. “Let me see,” she said, reaching out her hand slowly towards the older girl. Chloe flinched back at first and shook her head, but her protests were in vain as the concern in Beca’s eyes was obvious. For the first time since she had met Aubrey, she allowed herself to give in and expose herself in the most vulnerable way possible as she watched Beca pick up her arm. The brunette slowly rolled up the sleeve and Chloe looked away, unable to make eye contact and see how Beca was reacting. “Look at me,” the brunette said, and after a few seconds Chloe lifted her gaze to meet Beca’s. “I don’t think any less of you for doing this, okay? You don’t ever have to hide this from me.”

She gently stroked Chloe’s arm with the pad of her thumb, and noticed the multitude of scars varying between shades of pink and white. She turned her attention to the vibrant red that was now dripping onto the floor and said, “Let me just pull some clothes on, and then I will fix this, okay?” Chloe nodded timidly, unable to break her silence. She waited patiently as Beca pulled on the t-shirt and shorts that she brought with her, staring intently at the new addition to her arm. This one wasn’t a scratch; she could only just see the partition between the skin as her blood pooled around it and trailed to the bottom of her arm before dripping slowly off her baby finger. She held her arm at an angle so the blood would keep running, keep falling, and she was entranced by it. This was the blissful two minutes where it wouldn’t hurt, and the only pain she felt was the ghost of the blade dragging across her skin.

The sensation of a damp cloth wiping over her arm made her jump as it jolted her back into reality. Beca had grabbed her washcloth and briefly ran it under the shower before wiping the blood away as tenderly as she could. She could feel Chloe physically trembling beneath her palms and she winced as Beca smoothed the cloth over the wound. “Hold my hand,” she said, “Squeeze tight when it hurts.” Even when it was relatively clean, she didn’t let go of Chloe’s hand. “Talk to me. It scares me when you’re quiet,” Beca asked worriedly.  
Chloe let out a shaky breath and said, “You can sing.” The brunette laughed and looked into her bright blue eyes. “Yes, I suppose I can.”  
“Y-you have to audition for the Bellas.”  
“If I audition, will you come back to my dorm so I can take care of this cut?”  
“I’ve been doing this for long enough to know how to take care of my own injuries.”  
“Then I won’t audition.”

Chloe thought for a moment, and then found herself submitting to the younger girl’s request. Maybe Aubrey was right, and it was about time that she let someone else in.   
They reached Beca’s room and she quickly checked to see if Kimmy Jin was out as usual, and thankfully she was. Chloe was still pressing the washcloth to her arm as she sat down on Beca’s bed, admiring the contents of her shelves. Most of her suitcases were still packed, and Beca flitted from bag to bag rummaging to the bottom until she pulled out a small green first aid kit. “Any reason why you have that?” Chloe asked curiously.   
“I used to be a girl scout. We were told to always be prepared.”  
Chloe smirked but didn’t complain; figuring that later would be the time to question her about it. Beca split open an antiseptic wipe and automatically held Chloe’s hand, fully aware that this would hurt. As she wiped it over the wound she heard the sharp intake of breath and felt her fingers clamp together beneath Chloe’s grip, encouraging her to finish as soon as possible.

“Are you okay?” she asked, feeling slightly helpless.  
“Mmhmm,” Chloe nodded, “This is nothing. Try cleaning a cut with vodka – I thought I would pass out from the pain.” Beca didn’t know whether she should laugh, so instead she smiled weakly as she grabbed some skin closures from the first aid kit. “I can do this myself you know,” Chloe said, “I’ve been doing it for long enough on my own and managed just fine.” Beca simply ignored her and softly pulled the skin together as she placed a steri strip across it. 

Three strips later, she was done. Chloe was about to move but Beca was squeezing a small blob of antiseptic cream onto her finger. “It’s okay, you’ve already cleaned it,” she said, but Beca insisted on lightly massaging the cream around the wound and the steri strips. “This will help sooth it so hopefully it won’t be too irritable, and will reduce the redness around the cut.” Chloe raised an eyebrow and looked inquisitively at Beca, curious as to how she would know that. Beca quickly glanced at her and saw that she needed to explain herself. “You’re not the only one with a lot of experience in this field,” she said nonchalantly hoping not to raise any more questions, but she had already sparked Chloe’s concern.  
“Have you-”  
“No,” Beca quickly interrupted. “But my baby brother… he used to.” A few moments of silence passed before she let out a short laugh and said, “He hates me calling him baby brother. There’s five years between us so he’s not exactly a baby any more, but I’m always going to call him that.” Chloe smiled at the way that Beca’s face lit up when she spoke about him. “Five years… so he must have started young if he’s thirteen now,” she said, hoping that she wasn’t crossing a line by asking that.  
“Yeah, he was,” Beca replied, her smile gradually fading. “First time he ever did it was his eleventh birthday, when our parents split up.”  
“But you used the past tense; you said that he used to do it. When did he stop?”  
“Shortly before his thirteenth birthday.”  
“That’s great,” Chloe said trying her hardest not to feel jealous that he was actually able to find a way to stop, although she was pretty sure that Beca had something to do with it. “How did he manage it? How did he stop?”

There was a long silence and Chloe could see Beca focusing her gaze on the floor. Eventually she looked up and said flatly, “He just made it all stop.” Her expression froze for a moment, but then as if the past few minutes hadn’t even happened she smiled and said, “You’re going to need to change those strips every day. Do you have some at home?”  
“Yeah, there are loads in my drawer,” Chloe replied, still thinking about how Beca replied to the earlier question. Before she had time to ponder on it any longer an Asian student walked in, evidently Beca’s roommate, and sat down at her desk.   
Chloe hurriedly pulled down her sleeve even though the girl didn’t even glance their way. “I should probably go,” she said standing up from Beca’s bed.  
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”  
“I’ll be fine, thank you. Now you can go and actually have your shower.”  
Beca smiled, realising that she had forgotten all about it. She held Chloe’s hands and pulled her close until their foreheads were resting against one another. “Look after yourself, okay?” she said, and waited for Chloe to nod. “Are you free tomorrow night?”   
“I think so, why?” Chloe replied.  
“Well, I’ve figured out a place to take you on a date,” she said with a mischievous grin. “I’ll pick you up at eight?”   
“Sounds perfect,” Chloe said and smiled. “I’ll see you then.” She turned and walked out of Beca’s room, trying to sort through everything that was spinning around in her head and focus on the excitement and butterflies for tomorrow night.


End file.
